Endostemon tereticaulis

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Endostemon tereticaulis
Endostemon tereticaulis 1DS-II 3-1997.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Endostemon
Species:
E. tereticaulis
Binomial name
Endostemon tereticaulis
(Poir.) M.Ashby

Endostemon tereticaulis, commonly called the purpling keepsafe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Arabian Peninsula. [2]

Contents

Description

This species is an aromatic annual or short-lived perennial woody herb 15–40 cm (5.9–15.7 in) tall, with a taproot. The stems are erect, much branched, woody at the base, and rounded to weakly four-angled, sometimes forming low cushions. They are pubescent with mostly forward-pointing hairs, occasionally spreading. [3] [4]

The leaves are borne on short stalks, with narrowly elliptic to obovate blades 0.5–3.5 cm (0.20–1.38 in) long. The surfaces are hairy and dotted with sessile glands. The margins are crenate, with rounded to blunt tips and wedge-shaped to shortly narrowed bases. [3] [4]

The inflorescence is lax, with whorls of usually six flowers spaced 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) apart; the lowest internode is much shorter than those above. The bracts are leaf-like or smaller, erect near the apex and spreading below. The calyx is 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long at flowering and densely hairy with sessile glands, enlarging to 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) in fruit. The corolla is purplish, 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long, with a short, straight tube and four lobes, the uppermost broader and often notched. [3] [4]

The fruit consists of smooth, brown nutlets about 2 mm (0.079 in) long, which produce mucilage when wetted.

Distribution and habitat

Endostemon tereticaulis grows in dry, sandy or gravelly soils in grassy, open woodland at 30–1,300 m (98–4,265 ft) in altitude. Its geographic range extends from Senegal to Somalia, south to northern South Africa, and across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. [2]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Endostemon tereticaulis". Red List of South African Plants. SANBI. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  2. 1 2 "Endostemon tereticaulis (Poir.) M.Ashby". Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Paton, A.J.; Bramley, G.; Ryding, O.; Polhill, R.M.; Harvey, Y.B.; Iwarsson, M.; Willis, F.; Phillipson, P.B.; Balkwill, K.; Lukhoba, C.W.; Otieno, D.F.; Harley, R.M. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa: Lamiaceae (Labiatae). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pp. 206–207. ISBN   978 1 84246 372 7 . Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Codd, L. E. W., Dyer, R. A., Rycroft, H. B., de Winter, B. (1985). Flora of Southern Africa: The Republic of South Africa, Basutoland, Swaziland and South West Africa. Vol. 28. Govt. Printer. pp. 129–130. ISBN   0621082686.

See also

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